


“Every child is special”, a Darth Vader one-shot

by AzureAngel2



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-26
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2019-06-16 17:39:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15442359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AzureAngel2/pseuds/AzureAngel2
Summary: Summary: Confidentiality. An ancient law that binds every doctor to a patient. But Darth Vader's financial resources are endless, thanks to his bank account on Aargau. The Emperor has given him carnival license as long as he stays in line. And so the dark lord of the Sith, who lives a rather austere life, gets to see the little patient of a paediatrician without an official appointment.Length: one-shotTime frame: The story takes place in 14 BBY.Planet of choice: CoruscantDisclaimer: SW is owned by George Lucas, Lucas Ltd. and now The Walt Disney Company





	“Every child is special”, a Darth Vader one-shot

**Title:** _“Every child is special”_ , a Darth Vader one-shot for the “Representing the Under-represented Mod! Challenge”

 

_Something's gotten hold of my heart_   
_Keeping my soul and my senses apart_   
_Something's gotten into my life_   
_Cutting its way through my dreams like a knife_   
_Turning me up and turning me down_   
_Making me smile and making me frown_

_In a world that was small_   
_I once lived in a time there was peace with no trouble at all_   
_But then you came my way_   
_And a feeling unknown shook my heart, made me want you to stay_   
_All of my nights and all of my days_

_I gotta tell you now_   
_Something's gotten hold of my hand_   
_Dragging my soul to a beautiful land_   
_Something has invaded my mind_   
_Painting my sleep with a colour so bright_   
_Changing the grey and changing the blue_   
_Scarlet for me and scarlet for you_

_I've got to know if this is the real thing_   
_I've got to know what's making my heart sing_   
_You smile and I am lost for a lifetime_   
_Each minute spent with you is the right time_   
_Every hour, every day_   
_You touch me and my mind goes astray_

 

 

The order was simple. “Now behave yourself! There is no reason to startle the child!”

Doctor Damodaran, a Naboo man in his early thirties, looked away in shame, when the receptionist let the next patient enter the surgery. “Welcome, Cassandra,” he said, a tremble in his voice.

Instead of pausing at the door or running back into the anteroom, the girl walked up straight to the doctor's desk, where the unofficial guest sat. “Oh hallo,” she beamed. “Are you my new doctor, my liege?”

“Hopefully not,” Darth Vader gave back, his lips twitching painfully under his Sith mask. “Are you ill?”

Cassandra's sweet laughter pearled through the room. Then she became serious again. “But you are still not well,” she stated.

“It comes and goes,” the dark lord offered back.

Cassandra shook her head. “I am not talking about that black cloud above your head. You are in constant pain due to your suit.”

In slow motion, Darth Vader folded his hands in front of him. “That pain gives me meaning and purpose in life.”

Sighing, the girl sat down and placed her small hands on top of his. “That might well be. But the suit also gives you a hard time and little sleep. Just looking at you causes me a headache.”

“You could look elsewhere,” he suggested, sounding somewhat rough.

“No use there. I still would feel your pain.” She sighed once more, this time more dramatically, but did not let go of his hands. “Okay, so you wanted to talk and lured daddy away. I get that.”

There was no scorn in her, no rejection. Just blind trust and empathy.

She moved on, frowning intensely. “You even scared poor Doctor Damodaran, just to be in this seat right now.”

“Did I scare you, doctor?” he hissed without turning around.

“No, you made a generous payment,” the Naboo man replied meekly. “Now I will be able to upgrade the bacta tank for my all of my patients.”

Cassandra crinkled her nose. “Daddy can also scare people when he wants something very badly. Perhaps, if you are honest with yourself, you were too strict with the good doctor?”

It did not come out very easy, but the dark lord managed to say, “Perhaps.”

Satisfaction spread over the girl's small face. “Normally, 'Damodaran' means 'One who has Lotus in his Stomach'. Right now, he actually has poodoo in his...”

“Cassandra,” Darth Vader warned in a low tone. “Let us not embarrass the doctor even further.”

She blushed. _“Mujhe aap pe pura bharosa hai,”_ she said in the ancient language of the Naboo.

Doctor Damodaran blinked a tear away. “You do not need to be sorry, Cassandra. His Lordship was very generous with me and my team. I just hope I did not lose your trust for letting him participate in today's meeting.”

The girl crooked her head. “Daddy might shoot you straight in the head for it. But don't worry, I can keep a secret or two. Because I like you and I like my prince.”

“I am not a prince,” the dark lord corrected her. “I am but a mere servant of the Emperor.”

“That makes you a prince in my eyes,” she replied stubbornly. “I bet you have a huge castle and countless riches.”

“I do,” came the answer.

Cassandra leaned forward. “Since you wanted to see me so badly and even broke a few rules for it, what is it you want from me?”

It was worth a try.

“There are some ancient texts that I do not understand. But I hope that you are able to read them.” Darth Vader made a pause. “To me.”

“What are those texts about?” Cassandra asked eagerly.

“Magic and dark knights like me.”

Her eyes shone bright and clear. “Do you have one of those texts with you?”

Wordlessly, the dark lord rustled around in his utility cape and placed a little scriptroll in front of the girl.

Smiling, she opened it, blinked, and started reading in a clear voice.

“True power can come only to those who embrace the transformation. There can be no compromise. Mercy, compassion, loyalty: all these things will prevent you from claiming what is rightfully yours.”

From his position at the window Doctor Damodaran stirred uncomfortable.

“Leave us!” Darth Vader ordered.

“Milord, I am not sure!”

“Please?” Cassandra begged nicely. “I also want to know what the text says next. Its very exciting.”

Guilt rose in the Naboo man. _“Yah varjit hai,”_ he warned the child.

Her eyes shone even brighter than before. “Compassion, a form of love, is aroused within us when we are confronted with those who suffer or are vulnerable,” Cassandra quoted a long-gone, but still very popular holy man from the Lake District. “Please let me read this text to His Excellency! Today he is in very bad form.”

“As you wish,” Doctor Damodaran breathed. “I am next door if anything is the matter.” He knew there was little he could do, but he made it sound good for her.

Absent-mindedly, the girl nodded, her eyes flying over the text again. But she did not raise her voice again until the door to the adjoining room was closed.

_“Those who follow the dark side must cast aside these conceits. Those who do not—those who try to walk the path of moderation—will fail, dragged down by their own weakness. Those who accept the power of the dark side must also accept the challenge of holding on to it. By its very nature the dark side invites rivalry and strife. This is the greatest strength of the Sith: it culls the weak from our order. Yet this rivalry can also be our greatest weakness. The strong must be careful lest they be overwhelmed by the ambitions of those working beneath them in concert. Any master who instructs more than one apprentice in the ways of the dark side is a fool. In time, the apprentices will unite their strengths and overthrow the master. It is inevitable; axiomatic. That is why each Master must have only one student.”_

Silence fell, but not for long.

“Is there more?” Cassandra asked, her face thoughtful.

“Would you like to see more?” Darth Vader gave straight back.

She pressed her lips together. “You are so far in darkness that I am afraid you have to stay in there.” Tears came streaming over her cheeks. “But if me reading to you will help you like a torchlight in a cave, then I...”

The helplessness that overcame the dark lord was not very pleasant. Luckily for him Cassandra got a grip on herself again. She made her back straight and dried her tears with the edge of her right sleeve. “Can you smuggle recording equipment to me?”

“So we have a deal?” he said uncertain.

“Don't be stupid!” she scolded him. “I hate you to be alone in the dark. But if you need my voice for company, I can give you at least that.”

Darth Vader considered, curiously. “Will this cause a religious crisis for you?”

She blinked. “Why should it? Words can corrupt. But only if you let them. Daddy taught me that it is essential that I always stay true to myself. You need help with those texts. And only I seem to be the right person for it.”

He was not sure what to say. All those weeks of planning and scheming while the girl had been whisked away from him to Chandrila.

Cassandra started stroking his black gloves as if she was calming a kitten. “Can you promise me in return that you stop making Doctor Damodaran poop in his pants? He is a nice man and helped me a big deal during the last year.”

“I could.”

“I know that. Not good enough,” she spoke with a steely resolve that resembled that of her adoptive father, Director Krennic at his best.

“I will,” the dark lord corrected himself and gave his best to be convincing, because with Cassandra trying seemed not to be an option. She was like a lie detector. Her strength pleased him.

She let go of his hands and he felt a bit bereft now. Not many beings sought physical contact with him. And certainly not on a voluntary base. All the Jedi that he had murdered – younglings, padawans, knights and masters – came to mind.

“Another thing,” the girl said slowly.

He gave her a nod to continue.

“At about what time did you notice that you had trouble reading?”

Her eyes seemed to drill holes through his helmet.

“About your age, when I was not able to understand what a box with repair parts said. The signs were dancing up and down in front of my eyes.”

She did not look very happy with his answer. After some pondering, she spoke, “Did anybody ever take time to sit you down and teach you reading?”

Behind his mask he started to feel stupid, but he had to tell her. “Not really, no. There was never time.”

“Then you are not dyslexic,” she said softly. “You are just a beginner. Are you less angry with yourself now? Does it help to lift the cloud?”

Now he was really dumbstruck. All those years he had lived with a false assumption. “You mean there is still hope for me?”

Her giggle rang inside him like a bell. “There is always a new hope. If you let it.”

Considering his dense time table, Darth Vader inquired, “For the time being, would you like to be my reader?”

“If you make a true effort to learn reading, sure.”

There was a signal from the intercom. Without thinking, the dark lord pressed a button.

“Doctor Damodaran, Cassandra's father is here and would like to come inside,” the receptionist said, trying to sound normal.

Cassandra stood to attention like a brave little soldier. “You better leave and let my paediatrician sit in this chair again.”

He was fishing for words, which angered him slightly. “I...”

“There is no time!” she warned. “If daddy is desperate he will shoot his way through the assistant and this door.”

And so Darth Vader left, as silent as the night, switching places with a flustered Doctor Damodaran.

**Author's Note:**

> Sources:  
> The song “Something's gotten hold of my heart” by Gene Pitney (1962)  
> The arts-and-entertainment forums of the website typologycentral.com with Darth Revan tribute quotes  
> Wookieepedia – The Star Wars Wiki  
> Jedipedia, a free German Star Wars-Encyclopaedia


End file.
